It was Danny Boyle's daughter who, impressed by his performance, recommended Patel to her father to cast him as the protagonist Jamaal in the multiple-Oscar-winning film 'Slumdog Millionaire'.
Patel played one of the boys in the series about the debauched lives of a group of students in Bristol, Daily Express reported.
Patel's co-star in the movie Nicholas Hoult also went on to land movie roles in 'A Single Man' and 'Clash of the Titans' following his stint in the racy drama.
Now 'Skins' bosses are planning to transform their former employees' success at the box office with a full-length feature film next year.
"The biggest critics of Skins are the Skins fans so it's going to be a big challenge. The programme has this incredible fanbase despite all the characters changing.
Turning TV shows into films doesn't happen so much these days, probably because there's not the material out there. But what we don't want to do is to make a 90 minute episode of Skins. It would be a complete disaster," Producer Steve Christian said.
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